Chapter 24

My clock read 8:33 when I awoke. I was shocked because I never slept that late, but it had been an exhausting day and a late evening. I got out of bed and put Scarlet back up onto the shelf where she spent her days, before padding to the bathroom. Mom was in the kitchen already when I got downstairs.

"Good morning, sleepyhead", she said as we kissed.

"Morning, Mom. Why didn't you wake me?"

"I kept expecting you to come down at any minute. I never have to wake you up.

You're a morning person."

"Yeah. I guess that I was really beat from yesterday. It was a wonderful day but a tiring one. What time do you want to leave today?"

"As soon as you are ready, dear. We don't have to stop anywhere on the way, so we can get up to the lake early if you want."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I can't wait to go swimming again. I'll just make some breakfast and then get ready."

"I'll make it, honey. You just sit and have some tea. Don't forget to take one of your antibiotic capsules."

As Mom prepared some salsa-eggs for me, I sat at the table and took my capsule with a glass of OJ. The bottle was almost empty so I mentioned it to Mom.

She said, "Yes, I know. Alicia has sent me another bottle already. We'll open it as soon as that one is finished." Mom carried the eggs to the table and sat down. As I started to eat she said, "There's a message on the machine from your father."

I stopped eating and stared at her. Thoughts raced through my mind about Dad having been in the audience, and I vividly remembered my dream. "What does he want?"

"He wants to come visit you and your sister."

"He thinks that I am Carol."

"I know. We can't run away from this. We have to confront him and tell him the facts."

"When will he be coming?"

"Sunday afternoon. I left a message on his machine to come for dinner at 1 o'clock. Aunt Jessica should still be here. She has to be back to work the next day, but I know that she will stay until after his visit. We'll discuss how we'll handle things when we're all together up at the lake. Now, eat up and we'll start getting ready to go."

Mom cleaned the kitchen as I ate my breakfast, and then we hurried upstairs to bathe and dress. Mom insisted that I wear a skirt and heels instead of the jeans and sneakers that I had chosen. She said that I must continue to project the 'image' that had been created whenever I was in public, and that I could change into the jeans when we got to the lake. I thought that it was silly just to wear a skirt and heels for our walk from the house to the car, but she insisted and I acquiesced as always. You never knew who would appear when you were in public, like the day that Mr. Daniels had driven up just as we were leaving the house.

We didn't have any last minute visitors, and we were on our way to the lake by 10 o'clock. I spent the first part of the trip staring out of the windows and thinking about the upcoming confrontation with Dad. I prayed that things would not get violent, but I didn't know him and could not begin to guess at his temperament. Mom had also been absorbed in her thoughts for about an hour, but as we put distance between the city and ourselves, our moods seemed to lighten and we talked during the entire remainder of the trip.

We arrived at the lake just after noontime. Aunt Jessica came out to greet us. Carol was swimming with Barry and Jason. I hurried inside to change into my swimsuit after greeting Aunt Jessica, and I was down at the lake within 15 minutes. Carol, Jason, and Barry all swam in to greet me, and we hugged on the dock. After they had caught their breath we dove in and swam out to the platform. As we sat in the warm sun, I told them about the final weekend performances of the play, and they told me about their week. Aunt Jessica called when lunch was ready. Mr. and Mrs. Conroy had come over to spend the Labor Day holiday with us after Mom had called to inform them that we had arrived. Mr. Conroy had brought a cooler full of live Maine Lobsters, and a large package of steaks, with him for our dinner tonight. Today was Barry and Jason's last day up at the lake for the summer. They had to drive to school tomorrow to be ready for the beginning of college on Wednesday. A lot of colleges had already begun classes, but some still waited until after Labor Day.

We made the most of our last day together, spending much of it in the lake. In late afternoon, the boys pulled up the anchors holding our floating swim platform and Barry towed it to shore with the boat. After dragging it up onto the beach, they disconnected the dock from its moorings, and we dragged that up as well. They had already done the same at Barry's house. About an hour before dinner, Barry and Jason took the boat back home and returned in the 4x4 so that they would not have to leave as soon as it started to get dark. While they were gone, Carol and I changed out of our swimsuits. Since nobody except the Conroys and Jason would see me, I put on jeans.

Over dinner, Mom told everyone how wonderful our final performance had been, and about the beautiful award that I had been presented with. You didn't have to look too closely to see the pride in her face, or to hear it in her voice.

Mrs. Conroy said, "That's marvelous. You certainly deserve it Crystal. I thought that your performance was magnificent."

Mr. Conroy said, "I agree. You were delightful. I'm anxious to see your new TV series. When does it start?"

"I guess that it will begin with all of the new shows sometime later this month or early in October."

He said, "Do you have anything else coming up?"

"No. I guess that my acting career is over for a while. I don't have any jobs or even any prospects right now. The theatre company will probably be starting work on a new production in November, and performances will begin in January. They do two plays a year. With any luck, there may be a role for me in the new play, or least I can assist the director again."

"That would be quite a come down from your last position with the theatre company. Do you think that you could accept a lowly position in front of all of the people that bestowed a 'best performer of 1999' title upon you?"

"I was just in the right place at the right time. I remember reading a famous quote by Konstantin Stanislavsky that says 'Remember, there are no small parts, only small actors'. I would be happy just working in the theatre, regardless of the position. Mr. Tucker did a wonderful job as the butler when one of the cast members was injured in a car accident. He didn't appear to feel degraded."

Mr. Conroy smiled and said, "That's an admirable attitude, Crystal. If you can maintain that, you have a good chance for a happy life. The people who have to be on top, at any cost, are the ones who suffer the most."

Aunt Jessica said, "That doesn't mean that Crystal doesn't want to get ahead in life. Only that she's willing to accept the 'not so good', with the good. It is occasionally necessary to do unpalatable things in order to get a chance at the more rewarding things in life."

I wondered silently if Aunt Jess was alluding to my identity as Crystal. I had originally told myself that I was remaining this way to avoid letting the company down. Then it was to raise money for our college fund. Lately, with my acting successes, I had found myself thinking less and less about my former identity, and had been concentrating only on my life as Crystal. I had now maintained this identity for slightly over two months. As far as I knew, no one that I had met since becoming Crystal had ever suspected my dark secret. Although I no longer dwelt on the matter, it was never very far from my conscious thoughts. Months of pretense had shaped my mannerisms, automatic reactions, and even my thoughts to those of a 16-year-old girl. Almost against my will I found myself looking at other girls not in a sexual way, but rather comparing myself to them and appraising their clothes, jewelry, makeup, hair, complexions, body shapes, and movements. At the same time, I seemed to be kissing boys every time I turned around, and the experience was no longer the distasteful experience of that first time that I was kissed at the fairgrounds by Sean. It was entirely natural for a healthy 16-year-old girl to kiss boys, and in cloaking myself in the persona of Crystal, that was how I had begun to think of myself most of the time. I was sometimes flattered by all of the attention that I received, and God knows I suffered enough for it with the clothes that I wore. It was not surprising that boys, and men, lusted after this body. The image that Carol and Mom had cultivated was that of a blonde, sex symbol. The only thing that really disturbed me was the fact that I had started looking at men's butts with all of the other girls. We talked about them and compared them whenever we could not be overheard. I had even started appraising them when I was walking alone, although I had never even thought to look at them before I became Crystal.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Carol saying, "What do you think, Crys?"

"I'm sorry. I must have been daydreaming. What was it that you asked me?"

"I said that you might get other roles in your TV series if the critics like you. They can do flashback episodes showing you and Oliver before you were married. Right?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. My contract with the show permits negotiations for additional episodes if they want me. Of course, they can use my picture at any time without further permission or compensation, and they can re-use any of the film that they've already shot for the original episode but they have to pay me scale for the new episode that they're creating.

"How much would you be paid if they want to shoot new episodes?"

The pay rate for new episodes is negotiable by my agent, with the upper limit being equal to the amount paid to the second highest paid regular character on the show. "

"How much is that?"

"I don't have any idea. And I'm not saying that I would get anywhere near that amount if they decided that they wanted me for any more episodes. That is just the cap limit established by the contract that D&L negotiated."

Mom said, "They would have to pay you at least as much as for the first episode. Once they show that first program, you're an established part of the show and your perceived value goes up."

Carol said, "I hope that you do get called. I really want to visit California. You said that I could go next time, Mom."

"Yes, dear. If Crystal gets any more work out there, the three of us will go."

Aunt Jessica said, "I hope that you go when I can get some time off. I'd love to join you for a few days."

The 'surf and turf' dinner was delicious. When it grew dark, Mom, Aunt Jessica, and Barry's parents went inside the house, while Carol, Jason, Barry, and I stayed down near the lake where we talked about the summer and about going back to school. Jason and Barry were both sophomores now and were looking forward to returning. Having a summer off is great but by fall you start itching for something different to do, but because I had worked most of the summer, I didn't particularly share the same enthusiasm. I felt like I would like to have another month off. Eventually, the boys got amorous and we spent some time in lip locks before they started to get more serious in their efforts to seduce us. While I had allowed myself to be kissed, I had never allowed anyone to go any further. But tonight, I did allow Jason to indulge himself by rubbing my breasts. Because they were not real, I could not feel very much when he was being extremely gentle, but as he started to get aroused, he began to be a little less delicate. The sensations from the rougher movements were conveyed to my skin below, and I was surprised when I started to become aroused as well. Several times a shutter ran through my body and I found myself kissing him like my life depended on it. When his hand strayed to my stomach, I had to force myself to stop because I knew where the next move would be. I found it very difficult to turn it off, and I could sympathize with Jason's efforts to control himself. I didn't want to be a tease but there was no way that I could allow Jason to go further.

Carol likewise had put the brakes on Barry's ardor, and we all lay on the blankets staring up at the stars while we cooled back down. Carol and I knew that the boys would feel frustrated since this was their last night of the summer to 'score', but, they should find plenty of opportunities when they returned to school. For tonight our excuse could be the proximity of parents if the boys said anything, but they never uttered a word of complaint when it was clear that they would not be sexually satisfied.

For my own part, I lay thinking about the sensations that I had felt when Jason was rubbing my breasts. They were similar to the sensations that I had felt when the breast forms had been removed and my chest was swabbed with the milky white cleaning solution. Barbara had said that because of the breast forms covering the skin, I had been deprived of sensory information and that I would be overly sensitive. I also knew that I was at the age when puberty strikes and I wondered how much of the sensations that I had felt were due to that. Whatever the reason, I had felt the stimulation right down to my toes and the reaction concerned me. I would have to be very careful in the future to avoid letting anyone do what Jason had done, or I would risk having my secret discovered when I lost control.

A shout from the house brought me back to reality. Mr. Conroy was calling us to come in because they were getting ready to leave. The boys had to leave very early in the morning in order to reach their school by 10 o'clock. We walked up to the house and shared one last kiss before going in. We said goodbye to the Conroys and promised to keep in touch like summer friends always promise, but rarely do. Being neighbors, we knew that we would see each other again but it might not be until next summer. The boys gave us their college addresses and said that they would call when things settled down, and asked if we would come to visit them at school. We told them that we would like to if we could work it out.

After they had left, we all sat in the kitchen and talked about the summer. Mom decided that this was proper time to bring up the subject of Dad coming to dinner on Sunday. Carol and Aunt Jessica were shocked to learn about Dad's appearance at the house, and again at the theatre. We hadn't said anything because we hadn't wanted to upset them during their vacation up at the lake. There was nothing to be gained by their having advance knowledge of the coming storm anyway. Carol was upset, at first, that we hadn't told her, but after thinking about it, she decided that she was glad that she hadn't known before now. Over the course of the next several hours we discussed the situation, possible actions, and possible re-actions. At midnight we ended our conversation without having reached any conclusions other than that we should all sleep on it.

Over the next several days we continued to discuss Sunday's dinner with Dad as we cleaned the house and winterized it. On Friday morning we packed the cars, drained all of the water from the lines in the house, and turned off the gas and electric. After closing the shutters and locking the doors, we climbed into the cars and headed home. Arriving home about one o'clock, we unpacked the cars and prepared to resume our normal lives. By four o'clock, Carol had already been on the phone for over two hours as she called her girlfriends to catch up on the latest gossip. I helped Mom and Aunt Jessica with the laundry before we went grocery shopping to replenish the perishables. Carol was still talking when we returned and started preparing dinner. Since the lake was a long distance call she hadn't spoken to her friends in weeks. I, at least, had been home each weekend so I didn't feel similarly deprived.

On Saturday morning I called Barbara and arranged to meet her at the theatre so that I could pick up the dress and accessories. Mom drove me down at 10 o'clock and we found Barbara just entering the theatre. Following her to the Wardrobe room, she gave me the dress, shoes, gloves, purse, and jacket. She also gave me a small package of costume jewelry that looked like the real stuff. I think that it would take a jeweler with a loupe to determine that the stones were not diamonds. The bracelets, rings, necklace, and earrings were stunning. From Makeup she retrieved a number of small hair falls which I would insert into my own hair to give it greater body and length. We thanked Barbara and told her that we would call her next week to arrange for the return of everything that we were borrowing. On the way home we stopped to pick up some hair coloring that would more closely blend my hair color with the falls.

Arriving back home Mom helped me to alter the color of my hair. When we were done, and it was dry, it was a perfect match for the falls. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing my nails, bathing, working on my makeup, and fixing my hair with the falls. Carol helped me to get dressed as it neared 7 o'clock. I couldn't believe how tight the gown was when I tried to get it on. Carol had to tighten my corset down even more than normal in order to get the zipper closed. I think that Barbara must have measured wrong when she was sewing. I prayed that I wouldn't split any of the seams when I sat down. The skirt was even tighter than the very tight skirts that I normally wore and I could barely walk in the floor length gown. Carol put my shoes on me and buckled the straps as I raised the skirt a little. I was almost ready when we heard Mom shout up from the bottom of the stairs that my friend was here. Carol shouted back that we would be right down. She helped me to put on the jewelry because I already had the gloves on and couldn't manage the clasps. I sprayed on some perfume and we left my room. Carol had to help with down the stairs or I never would have made it. In these clothes I felt as helpless as a small child.

When I arrived at the bottom of the stairs, I looked around for Debbie and was confused to be confronted by a young man in a dark suit. For a moment I thought that Debbie had brought another date along, and then I realized that this 'was' Debbie. She smiled as I stared at her with my jaw hanging down. She was wearing a man's very dark gray pin-stripped suit and black wingtip shoes. A black wig, small moustache, small wart on her cheek, and some kind of makeup that that gave her the appearance of five o'clock shadow, made her look older and more masculine then most of the guys at the community college. I would never have guessed that this was Debbie if I had not been expecting her to arrive. With the five o'clock shadow she looked like she was 25, rather than just 17.

"You look absolutely beautiful", she said. "I'll be the envy of every guy at the restaurant."

"And you look wonderful also. I'm a bit surprised. Barbara wouldn't tell me what you were wearing tonight, but I expected to see you in a gown."

"This is the only way that we'll be able to dance without attracting attention, and without every guy at the restaurant hitting on us. I told you that I was going to dress as a guy on our next date."

"That's true. You did, but I forgot."

Mom, Carol, and Aunt Jessica had been straining to contain themselves as we talked, but they finally lost the battle and laughed uncontrollably. Debbie and I joined in and giggled along with them.

When she composed herself Mom said, "Wait here, I want to get a picture." She hurried upstairs to get a camera as Carol took a closer look at Debbie's wig and moustache.

Debbie said, "Marge applied it for me. Looks like the real thing doesn't it? Marge is great with makeup."

Carol said, "I'd never guess that you were a girl until you talk."

"I've been practicing on talking like a guy for the past week. How's this sound?"

"Wonderful", I said. "If you talk like that tonight, nobody will ever suspect."

Mom had returned with her camera and she posed us in front of the mantel where she had put my award from the theatre. She must have shot an entire roll of film as she had us pose in a number of different positions. The final shots were with Debbie standing behind me with her arms wrapped around my waist. When she had finished the roll we were finally allowed to leave. Debbie held my jacket for me, and then opened the door and extended her elbow. I took her arm and leaned on her for support as I waddled to the car in the gown, which had been altered to act like a hobble skirt. Debbie held the door and gave me her hand so that I could lower myself into the car seat. When I was in, she closed the door and went to the driver's side. Fortunately, it wasn't locked, so I didn't have to lean over.

As we drove Debbie said in her masculine voice, "Call me Michael for tonight. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to have a woman's name while I am dressed like this. And get into character to think of me as a man."

"Yes, Michael", I said. "Michael?"

"Yes dear?"

"This dress wasn't like this the last time that I tried it on. Did you tell Barbara to alter it like this, or was it her idea?"

"A little of both. She noticed that you seemed to like tight skirts and she said that she would make you look so sexy that every man in the restaurant will have his tongue hanging out when they see you. I told her that the tighter, the better, and that it was okay with me if I had to carry you everywhere because it was too tight for you to even walk in it. And you do look wonderful. Your large bosom, wasp waist, and delicious tush will have the men at the restaurant falling all over themselves tonight. That strapless gown shows just enough cleavage to make their tongues water with desire, and your figure will drive them wild as every man fantasizes about taking you to bed. I bet that every male that you meet tonight undresses you in his mind within minutes of seeing you. I have said since the beginning that you are prettier than I am, and dressed like that you are the hottest thing in this town. And that jewelry makes you look like you're a member of a royal family."

"Stop it Michael. You're making me blush. And you're terrible for telling Barbara to make the dress this tight. I can barely walk in it, and it almost shouts 'look at me, I'm sexy'. You men are all alike. " I smiled.

Michael smiled back. "You are a beautiful woman, Crystal my love, get used to it. Men are going to look at you no matter how you are dressed, and that dress is making me so hot that I want to jump your bones right here. Here, put these on." He handed me an engagement ring and wedding band as he put one on his hand. "This will keep the wolves from the door tonight."

We arrived at the restaurant and Michael pulled up in front. The valet opened my door and extended his hand to help me out. I thought that I saw his eyes bug out a little as he got a good look. Michael came around and gave him the keys in exchange for a receipt, before extending his elbow to me. Again using him for support, I waddled to the door. In the reflection of the glass doors, I saw the valet staring after me with his mouth open a little.

The Maitre d' stood up a little straighter, and his eyes opened a little wider, as we approached his position behind what looked like a lecturer's podium.

"Good evening. What name for the reservation?"

Michael said, "Ramsey."

"Very good, sir. Madam looks very familiar. Have you dined here before?"

"This is Crystal Ramsey, the actress."

The Maitre d's eyes opened a little wider and his demeanor changed perceptively. "Oh, of course. I'm very sorry, Mrs. Ramsey. I should have recognized you. Naturally I'm familiar with your wonderful play downtown. I very much enjoyed your performance when I was able to see it several weeks ago. Please forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive. This is my first visit to your beautiful restaurant."

"Please, follow me," he said.

He led us to what was perhaps the best table in the restaurant. It was located directly in front of the small stage where a small group was performing, while several couples danced to their music on a small dance area. Every patron in the restaurant had turned to look at me as we were led through the room. I was taking about six very quick steps for each one that Michael took, and my breasts were jiggling from the crazy movements. Michael held my chair for me when I sat down, and I used the table to steady myself as I settled into the chair. The Maitre d' summoned a waiter to our table, as soon as we were settled in, and then excused himself after wishing us a pleasant dining experience. As we looked over the menu, a wine steward brought us a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Michael said, "We didn't order this."

The steward said, "Compliments of the house, sir, for Miss Ramsey's table."

I think all eyes in the room were on us as the steward pulled the cork and poured a sip for Michael. When he nodded that it was acceptable, the steward poured a glass for each of us, returned the bottle to the ice bucket, and left, after wishing us a pleasant evening. One of the advantages of celebrity was the immediate attention, fine seats, and complimentary wine. The disadvantage was the constant attention from the other patrons. By now, I had come to the conclusion that every waiter had spread the word about my identity because the room had started to buzz a little. It started to die down by the time that the waiter returned to take our order.

I was surprised by the fact that no one had asked for proof of age before serving alcohol to minors. We hadn't asked for the wine, so perhaps the wine steward had accepted that the Maitre d' had carded us already. Michael certainly looked old enough to consume alcohol. Marge had done a wonderful job on his appearance to make him look about 25. My own celebrity may have been responsible for no one asking me. People seem to be intimidated when confronted with famous people. Not that I was famous, but here, in my own hometown, and now, following the conclusion of the play, I guess that I could be considered that way. The Maitre d' may have been so embarrassed about failing to recognize me, that he sent the wine without thinking about my age. I had worked my makeup to make me appear older than I was because of where we were coming to dine, not because I had hoped to be served alcohol.

Michael and I had discussed the food selections so that when the waiter returned he was able to order for both of us. After the waiter had left us, Michael asked me to dance so I waddled to the floor after he had helped me to get up. With my four-inch heels, and him wearing wing tips, we were close to the same height. The slow song being played was perfect for the way that I was dressed and we moved very slowly around the floor. Michael mentioned to me that everyone in the room was watching us. We were used to being looked at after having completed 32 performances so we just ignored the stares. When the song ended the band picked up the pace a little so we sat down. The waiter had just brought out our salad anyway. I just picked at my salad because I wanted to save what appetite I had for the main entrée.

The Lobster Newburg was fantastic. Everything that I had heard about Giorgio's food appeared to be true. Michael had ordered the Beef Marsala and we exchanged small portions of our dinners so that we could both try the other's selection. While the Beef was delicious, I got the impression that Michael would have preferred to order something different but had ordered what he felt would be consistent with the identity of his character. I knew that Debbie rarely, if ever, ate meat.

By the end of the meal, I was starting to feel the wine. I was not a connoisseur of wine but I knew that Dom Perignon was reputed to be one of the finest, and one of the most expensive. The expense of the bottle probably far exceeded the total amount of our dinner bill, and we were determined to drain it before we left. After we had eaten, we danced a number of times. I was feeling very light-headed and happy by now. A photographer appeared from out of nowhere and took several pictures of us on the dance floor, further calling attention to us. When we returned to our table, he asked if he could take a few more. We told him that he could take three more if he promised no more after that. He quickly agreed and we posed for the pictures in hopes of getting rid of him. True to his word, he thanked us after the three pictures and left.

The restaurant didn't seem to mind us occupying the table after our meal was done, so we stayed there and danced while we continued to empty the champagne bottle. When it was finally empty, Michael put it back into the bucket upside down and we danced once more. The wine steward came over to us, when we returned to the table, to ask us if we would like another bottle, and seemed genuinely disappointed when we declined. Michael called for the waiter to bring the bill and paid it leaving a generous tip along with the princely sum required.

My head was swimming and I hoped that Michael felt better since he was driving. Taking his arm, I waddled alongside him as we walked through the restaurant towards the exit. As we reached the Maitre d' he inquired if we had enjoyed the meal. I told him that everything had been wonderful and thanked him for the wine. He responded that it was his pleasure and hoped that we would come again.

Outside, the valet had already brought the car before we asked for it. We were certainly getting the star treatment. Michael gave him a nice tip and helped me in. I felt my head flop back against the seat but didn't appear to have the strength to hold it upright. I closed my eyes as we drove and must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes again we were inside Gram's garage. Michael helped me out and half carried me to the living room.

I said, "Oh good. Peppermint Schnapps time."

Michael said, "Not for you. You've had too much already. I'm more used to drinking than you are and I'm feeling it a little."

"Oh, come on Michael, just a small one."

"No. And you don't have to call me Michael anymore. Nobody can see us here."

I giggled and said, "If you're not Michael, then who are you?"

"Oh boy, you're toasted. Okay, let's start walking it off."

I giggled again and said, "Okay, I know that you're Debbie. I was just kidding. Sheesh, what a pooper."

"How do you feel?"

"Tired, and a little dizzy."

"Okay, then tea should help a little. The caffeine might help overcome the tired part. The dizzy will just have to wear off by itself as your system cleans the alcohol out of your brain."

Debbie went into the kitchen to put on the pot, then came back in and we sat on the couch.

I said, "You really do look like a Michael. I had no trouble pretending that that was your name and that you were really a guy. You did a terrific job of maintaining your voice also. Did you ever consider becoming an actress?"

She looked at me incredulously and then realized that I was kidding her. She smiled and pulled me down onto her lap, then raised me up so that we could kiss. When we had finished the kiss, she said, "You really are a terrible teaser."

"And I think that you are wonderful. Thank you for a terrific evening. It was wonderful being able to dance with you and not having anyone see anything unusual. We could never have done that if you had worn a gown tonight. Thank you for going to so much trouble for me."

"My pleasure. Really. I enjoyed it every bit as much as you did. And if you could wear that impossibly tight dress for me, then it was no trouble to wear this disguise for you. I'm going to ask Barbara and Marge if they'll help me again some time. That is if you want to go out like this again?"

"Just name the day. I can't wear the same dress again though. Maybe Barbara has something else I can use."

Debbie said in her Michael voice, "Just like a woman. Wear a dress one time and then you never want to be seen in it again."

"Now who's the teaser?"

She smiled and said, "Just kiss me, woman."

After we kissed, Debbie went to the kitchen and prepared the tea. We stayed at Gram's house until midnight and then she took me home. Instead of dropping me off as usual, she helped me out of the car and walked me to the door. We stood on my front step and kissed for another ten minutes before I went inside. Mom and Aunt Jessica were watching a late night movie while waiting up for me. They asked me about the date and I told them how wonderful Giorgio's was, but I left out the part about the champagne. I told them that we had gone to Debbie's Gram's house afterward, and I told them about the photographer at the restaurant.

Mom said, "It sounds like you had a wonderful evening, but it's late young lady, so get up to bed now."

"Can you help me get out of this dress? I don't think that I can climb the stairs with it on."

So Mom helped me to remove the dress and then loosened my corset. It felt wonderful to be able to move again. With my new freedom, I climbed the stairs easily and finished getting undressed in my room. It was almost an hour before I finished getting ready for bed. Carol came in as I was ready to slip between the sheets and we wound up talking for another hour as she got ready for bed. By the time that I got into bed, I could barely keep my eyes open and I fell asleep almost immediately. All thoughts of Dad coming tomorrow had temporarily been wiped from my mind.

 

(continued in Chapter 25)

 

 

 

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© 1999 by Crystal Sprite. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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